China Has No Responsibility to Pay for U.S.-South Korean Mistakes

On Yeonpyeong Island, the rumbling sound of artillery fire has broken the short-lived tranquility that existed between North and South Korea, as war alarms were suddenly sounded on the Korean Peninsula. The Korean artillery fire furthered the deterioration of an already fragile regional security situation. It not only caused global trepidation, but has once again dragged China to the forefront. During a meeting with Russia’s President Medvedev, China’s Premier, Wen Jiabao, once again expounded China’s stance. China opposes any sort of provocative military action and encourages both sides to maintain maximum restraint. China suggests that the international community should do more to encourage pacification of this tense situation and believes that renewal of the Six Party Talks is necessary to maintaining the stability of the Korean Peninsula. These are the fundamental paths to denuclearizing the peninsula.

Faced with the current complicated and ever-changing situation on the peninsula, many Western countries look to China. Placing the hats of “Responsible Superpower,” “Leadership Role” and “Key Elements” onto China, the U.S., Japan and South Korea’s top leaders have urged China to exert influence, to display a resolute attitude and ask North Korea to refrain from military aggression. Some of America’s allies are also echoing the U.S. by requesting that China take action against North Korea. The development of this situation clearly does not follow logic or reason. Although the artillery fire between the two Koreas is an “accidental incident,” it, however, is completely expected. As the North-South conflict continues to intensify, the U.S., South Korea and Japan use joint military exercises to display their strength. “Accidental discharge” from both sides was bound to happen sooner or later. The tough policies the U.S. and South Korea have towards North Korea have directly led to the tragedy on Yeonpyeong Island. And yet they are forcing China to come clean up the mess. This is clearly a case of reverse cause and effect; it is completely absurd to push the blame onto someone else.

Although both sides blame each other for instigating the conflict, it is an indisputable fact that South Korea conducting military exercises in disputed waters lead to the conflict. According to the latest reports from a South Korean officer, South Korea refused to stop military exercises as requested by North Korea. They then fired artillery shells, and they fell into the disputed waters. If this is true, then the U.S., South Korea, Japan and other countries’ preconceived accusations of North Korea are unjustifiable. The “double standard” used by Western countries in their one-sided support for South Korea is unfair.

In reality, the conflict on the peninsula is an inevitable consequence of strong U.S. and South Korean policies towards North Korea. After Lee Myung-bak’s government came to power two years ago, he gave up on the “Sunshine Policy” that was supported by the former two South Korean Presidents. He strongly implemented the “non-nuclear, openness, 3000” plan, which made North Korea give up its nuclear ambitions and instead implement reform and openness as prerequisites for receiving economic aid from South Korea and developing North-South relations. These changes brought about a backlash from North Korea and have also caused North-South relations to deteriorate. This year, the U.S. used the Cheonan incident as a pretext to announce a “return to Asia” strategy, thus strengthening and enhancing its military alliance with South Korea. They resolved the dispute with Japan surrounding the relocation of the Futenma military base and, through joint military exercises, have strengthened the presence of U.S. troops in Northeast Asia.

The U.S. and South Korea’s policies towards North Korea intensified the North’s fear and vigilance. To alleviate pressures, North Korea has repeatedly tried to extend an olive branch to the U.S., expressing that they are willing to restart discussions with the U.S. as well as renew the Six Party Talks; but they have yet to receive any replies. The U.S. and South Korea, however, have participated in many joint military exercises, and have openly “challenged” North Korea, thus causing North Korea to be nervously tense at any sign of danger, frequently saying they are “on the brink of war.” The North-South skirmish proves that the U.S. and South Korea’s policies towards North Korea are in trouble.

Currently, even though the international community has appealed that both sides maintain control, they hope to avoid having the situation intensify in the future. However, the conflict on the peninsula has escalated the danger level to a high degree. North Korea threatened that if South Korea dares to cross into North Korean waters by 0.0001mm, North Korea will not hesitate to respond with military action. At the same time as South Korea’s second and third threat of retaliation, South Korea has actively joined America, Japan and other countries in their push for new sanctions against North Korea. During this time, the U.S. and South Korea were conducting joint military exercises in the Yellow Sea that caused North-South relations and the Korean peninsula to once again face a rigorous test. In the current situation, any responsible country should “do more to encourage the pacification of this tense situation,” and not use lame arguments to try to get China to pay for their mistakes.